


Like the Rain

by aj_linguistik



Series: October Prompt Challenge [12]
Category: Fruits Basket (Anime 2019)
Genre: F/M, Kissing in the Rain, October Prompt Challenge, One Shot, Rain, Tearful reunion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:15:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26971249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aj_linguistik/pseuds/aj_linguistik
Summary: The god of the zodiac spirits has told them to stay apart, but this won't stop them from seeing one another again. After a period of time without the other, they meet again at last, following their own path as they choose.
Relationships: Sohma Hatsuharu/Sohma Rin
Series: October Prompt Challenge [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949194
Kudos: 10





	Like the Rain

**Author's Note:**

  * For [disasterbiKirito](https://archiveofourown.org/users/disasterbiKirito/gifts).



> A/N: So, this piece is likely the most artistic one I've worked on yet this challenge. I got very caught up in the sensory aspect of it. Today's prompt was "In the Rain" and babe gave me RinHaru with a tearful reunion. I am pretty happy with how the aesthetic of the piece came out since I've never written these two before. I hope you enjoy it as well!

Rain fell gently from the ash-colored sky, steady and rhythmically. Its droplets kissed the surface of the world, leaving only ripples in puddles and splatters on sidewalks as they met the earth. Those droplets adhered to every surface that allowed them to, dripping down poles, clinging to blades of grass, and rolling down the wide brims of umbrellas. Looking down from the sky onto the world, the rain and clouds saw hundreds of umbrellas, all displaying their colors proudly like birds of paradise. It was the sole source of the splash of color this dreary, rainy day felt. The umbrellas danced across the city, unaware that they were putting on such a display as they covered every head in Tokyo.

Every head save for one.

Standing without moving at a crosswalk, a single person had his head uncovered in the rain. He stood there silently, watching the other side of the street. From a glance, he appeared to be unblinking, though he must have blinked at some point. Despite the rain, he wore no raincoat nor rainboots. His outfit comprised of a sleeveless white shirt, jeans with stress around the knees, and a pair of black shoes. Those, too, were hard to make out from a glance. Were they dress shoes? Or were they sneakers? None of the passers-by seemed to notice or take care.

The rain met him just the same as it met everything else. It landed in his short hair, which was white on the top and black underneath. The strands of hair stuck together like they were magnets, and the ends of the locks that came together dripped down onto his face, too heavy with rain stored up in them. Those droplets clung to his clothing, causing it to stick tightly to his skin, betraying well-trained muscles. They ran down his arms, tracing out those muscles delicately, like the tip of a fingernail drawing a thin line around them.

Sounds of cars in the streets, shoes hitting the damp sidewalk, and rain drumming on overhangs and the road filled his ears. There was a certain monotony to it all; the sounds all melded together as if to create one unified sound. This was the sound of daily life. Nothing broke it up, not even a blaring horn. It was a peaceful sound, but at the same time it felt silent and left one wanting for a distraction. Even as signals changed, the sounds did not. He kept his eyes forward, taking in everything as the sounds fused in his ears.

The crosswalk light turned green. His legs did not budge. He kept his eyes trained on the opposite side, still focused and unmoving. Other pedestrians shoved past him, trying to move him out of their way as they hurried from one side to the other, but he was immoveable. But no one cared to know why he stood there, unwilling to be displaced. They simply dashed around him, finding his blockade to be a nuisance as they went about their ways to wherever. The crowd began to thin out as the counter began. When the light turned red again, the street was clear.

Cars zoomed past once more, their lights reflecting on wet pavement. He stood there on his side alone still, keeping his eyes on the other side. After a few minutes, another crowd started to accumulate behind him, preparing to cross. They were just as unaware as the first crowd; they didn’t know that he was firmly planted there, as permanent in this moment as were the crossing signal and the paint on the crosswalk. He didn’t give them any warning, so as the phenomenon repeated itself, once again, the crowd’s irritation towards him flared up while they shoved around him. He didn’t care.

He was waiting for someone. He had a purpose here.

The boy’s name was Sohma Hatsuharu. He was a high schooler, and from his looks, which were adorned with jewelry, he appeared to be some sort of delinquent. The exterior didn’t match how kind his heart was, though, and his delinquency only surfaced sometimes. It was difficult, once one knew him, to truly think of him as a delinquent. He knew that it wasn’t how he strove to be; it was all a part of the curse. The curse caused him so much pain, and he knew it caused the others pain, too. It was the reason he waited here, so patiently, after all.

Because of the curse, his love had been rejected. Not by the girl he loved, but by the god that decided they knew what was best for each and every one of their subjects. That rejection felt cold and sharp, unlike this gentle rain. It bore deep into his heart and told him to give up. He didn’t want to give up though. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him. All of his heart belonged to her, not this god that screamed at him and caused him such pain. No, she was more like this rain than the god. Gentle. Rhythmic. Refreshing.

It was for her that he waited here without end. He knew that she’d come this way. It had been so long since they’d seen one another that he felt impatient. But this impatience didn’t show on his face. Rather, he looked quite the opposite. His demeanor was calm and relaxed, accepting his place among the permanent objects on this sidewalk corner. Unlike the busy people around him, who were frustrated and hurrying and worked up over nothing, he was becoming one with the rain itself. Their umbrellas rejected the rain drops; his exposed body accepted them.

He was as the rain.

Hatsuharu barely registered the rain falling on him. It was just another part of existing in this world. On a sunny day, the sun would reach down and caress his skin. Why should a rainy day be any different to him? He would wait for her no matter the weather, and he would accept the weather around him without question. This was just another way of counteracting that rejection. If he accepted things—the rain, the sun, her love—then he was defying that cold rejection the god thrust at him every time he came near them.

His eyes finally blinked where someone could see it. But the woman who saw him blink thought nothing of it. She hadn’t been standing there long enough to think he was unblinking at all. She simply glanced in his direction and half-ran, half-walked across the street as the counter came closer and closer to zero. He didn’t pay much attention to her, though. There was only one woman that he wanted to see today, and his eyes were waiting to spot her on the opposite side of the street. They were so focused that he didn’t hear the man now on his right shouting profanities at him for standing right in the way of the crosswalk. It was as if his senses were turned off—no, they were just honed in. He would notice her.

In his heart, he could feel the impatience starting to creep outwards to other parts of his body. He couldn’t let it show. He had to be firm in his outward patience. The impatience he felt was merely a normal human reaction, but despite that, humans valued patience more than their own natural behavior. He must display that patience for her. Seeming like he’d been irritated with waiting would cause her to frown, wouldn’t it? He couldn’t allow for that. She’d frowned too much in her lifetime. She deserved to smile for once.

After several changes of the light, while it was sitting on a red signal to cross, he finally caught a glimpse of her as she turned around the opposite corner. She was alone, and she was dressed in a sleeveless black top, a black short skirt, and her favorite tall boots. Her long, brown hair swayed back and forth as she walked. Just like him, no umbrella covered her head. They were two outliers in a crowd with heads covered, each drinking up the rain with their bare skin as if it were the most normal feeling in the world. She walked up to the curb, and their eyes met across the street. He felt a warmth in his chest that contrasted with the cold rejection he’d thought about earlier.

Even more so now, his impatience begged him to let it out. He wanted to run across the street and hold her in his arms. It would be indecent to break their agreement. She would cross over the street to meet him here. This was the corner they’d agreed on. He shouldn’t break that agreement just to satisfy his impatience. The light felt like it took an age to turn, though, so he felt that itching desire start to tremble in his arms. It wasn’t enough that anyone would notice. They might just presume he was chilled from the rain.

The light changed again. He saw her step into the street, right foot first. Her boot sent up a small splash of water from a puddle gathering droplets just as the spot where the curb met the street. She continued forward, with her hair and hips swaying as she walked. Yes, rhythmic. Her entire motion felt that way. She was never the clumsy sort. Her walk, even now, after everything they’d been through, always looked confident and rhythmic. Nothing broke her stance. She marched forward to reach her destination until at last, she was standing in front of him.

He reached out a hand and took hers gently. He pulled her up onto his side of the road, careful to take a step back to give her space to clear the curb. He backpedaled a few steps, forgetting to check behind himself, until she had enough space to stand without being in danger from the road. Their eyes met once more, both glistening with emotion. One might mistake it for the rain dripping down their faces, but they both knew the truth without ever saying it aloud. They knew that what they saw in one another’s eyes were tears of joy at seeing one another after so long.

“Rin,” he said softly.

Her name broke up the monotony around him. It was the break in sound that he’d been searching for. He saw her lips turn up into a slight smile as she heard her name. Perhaps she’d been searching for that change in the sounds as well. He pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her carefully. He must treat her like the gentle rain treated a flower, with a delicate touch that would not bend her head.

“Haru,” she responded.

How sweet his name sounded coming from her lips! How long had it been since he’d heard her voice! And the first thing she’d graced his ears with was his own name. He couldn’t help but to reach up and cup her face with his hand. Her cheek was damp from rain and tears. He stroked it with his thumb.

“How long have you been standing here?” she asked.

He shook his head.

“Not long,” he said. “I’ve missed you.”

She nodded her head.

“Liar,” she whispered.

His appearance likely gave away that he’d been here awhile. His clothing was soaked, after all. Hers wasn’t clinging her to her the same way his was. She could see right through his words as plain as day. She didn’t seem to mind, though. He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers, feeling the warmth of her skin against his.

To him, Sohma Isuzu was just like the rain. Feeling her against his skin felt so calming and natural. He opened his lips slightly, eager to accept her the way he accepted the rain droplets. Their mouths crept closer to one another, nervous but willing on both ends. The fear of rejection from their god told them not to accept the embrace. He felt her start to pull away. That fear must be so great that it would stop her from doing what she wanted to do. He pulled her head back towards him with enough care to make sure it didn’t hurt or feel forced. He guided her forward until at last, their lips touched.

Her tears spilled out of her eyes and onto her cheeks. He felt his own eyes threaten to do the same. This was their statement to that god; they would not accept rejection. They would accept one another. Whether permitted to or not, he knew that this was what he wanted—a life and a love with her and only her. As he pulled her more into the kiss, he secretly wished for the god to look down and see it and understand that they could do nothing to tear them apart. Their acceptance of one another’s love was an act of defiance, and they would stand by it, even if it meant that they angered the god.

Because like the rain, they could be both gentle and wild.


End file.
